The present invention relates to practice dummies used to teach football skills to athletes and, more particularly, to a mobile, remotely controlled practice dummy particularly useful for teaching and practicing skills to be employed with mobile opponents.
Practice dummies are widely used to teach tackling and blocking techniques and skills to football players. Practice dummies enable players to learn and practice proper technique while reducing bodily wear and tear and the potential for injury that accompanies live tackling and blocking drills with other players. Practice dummies typically comprise a simple padded structure which may be either handheld, freestanding or attached to a sled. The practice dummy is usually located in front of the player to provide a target for practicing blocking and tackling techniques. Sled mounted and standalone dummies provide resistance to the tackler and blocker simulating the resistance encountered in tackling and blocking a human player but provide only a static target. Dummies held by members of the coaching staff can be moved but movement is limited because the holder of the dummy typically must be stationary to resist the impact of the tackler or blocker and to avoid injury when the dummy is impacted. While practice dummies are useful for teaching basic blocking and tackling techniques, opposing players are not static objects and live drills with other players are typically required to teach techniques useful when the tackler or blocker is opposed by a human player who is moving while initiating or evading contact.
What is desired, therefore, is a practice dummy sufficiently mobile to simulate a human player.